The Mating(48)

The bedroom door swung open and Kane walked in. She was still standing in front of the mirror, adjusting her clothes. He swept his eyes over her and an approving smile appeared on his face. “I see you’re ready for the meeting.”

Elise nodded nervously. “Do I look all right? Not too casual or too dressy?”

Kane pulled her into his arms and gave her a comforting hug, then kissed the tip of her nose. “You look perfect, but then again, you did before as far as I was concerned. I thought you might be nervous and wouldn’t want to walk into the room by yourself, so I came to get you.”

“Thanks. I wasn’t looking forward to that. It’s a bit nerve wracking to think that I’m the Alpha’s mate. Everyone will be expecting me to be like Helen.”

“No they won’t. They just expect you to be you.” Kane gave her another hug, then taking her hand, he led her down the stairs to the meeting room. Elise concentrated on steadying her breathing and composing her nerves. Wolves could smell fear and that wasn’t the first impression she wanted to make.

The faint buzz of voices could be heard coming from the other side of the door. “It sounds like everyone is there already. I thought the meeting didn’t start until seven?” She checked her watch. It was still only six forty-five.

“I guess they’re all early for some reason.” Kane shrugged unconcernedly and pushed the door open.

Elise peeked inside and gasped.

Kane grinned and tugged her into the room as everyone called out, “Surprise!” Two large banners were strung across the far wall. One said “Welcome Elise!” and the other had “Congratulations Kane and Elise” printed across it.

Elise didn’t know what to say. She scanned the room, taking in the sea of smiling faces. Kane squeezed her hand and led her to a table where a slab cake was decorated with a little plastic bride and groom. Someone had made little furry tails and taped them to the figures. Kane picked one up and examined it with raised brows.

Carrie burst out laughing. “They don’t make Lycan bride and groom cake decorations, so I improvised.”

“Hmm...” Kane looked at Elise. “If my tail is ever sticking out of my suit coat like this, you will tell me, won’t you?”

Elise chuckled and nodded before being enveloped in a bear hug by a repentant looking John. “I’m sorry for what I said about how you looked at supper, but I was told to do it. We wanted you upstairs so everyone could sneak in, and figured if you were in the shower and changing your clothes, you wouldn’t hear them arriving.”

“Well, it certainly worked.” Elise pretended to scold him. “I figured I must be a real mess, and that Carrie and Kane were simply trying to be nice when they said I looked fine.”

Smirking, Carrie explained further. “I know how we woman think. The more we tried to reassure you, the more you’d believe something was wrong. It was a foolproof plan.”

“Enough chit chat! Open the presents!” Helen urged her towards a large table covered in gifts.

Elise took in all the boxes and bags then looked at Helen and the assembled crowd in shock. “You didn’t have to bring presents. The cake, and the banner, and... Well, everyone being here was more than enough!”

“We weren’t able to give you two a shower or attend the bonding, so we’re having our own little celebration.” Helen said smugly.

“Besides,” Marla added, appearing beside Kane. “We usually do a large birthday and anniversary party at these meetings for anyone in the pack who had a special day that month. October was empty and we had nothing better to do.” She smirked at Elise and leaned against Kane. “Just teasing, of course.”

Carrie’s eyes flashed with temper that matched the red of her hair. She grabbed Marla’s arm and gave it a firm tug. “Marla, come help serve the coffee and tea.” And before Marla could protest, she was whisked away.

Kane and Elise spent the next half hour opening presents and thanking everyone who had gathered around them. Elise felt overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity and was happy Kane was at her side to speak to all the well-wishers. Just as on her first day there, most people seemed pleasant, a few were curious, but everyone seemed genuinely welcoming. Well, except for Marla, but that was a different story.

As she stood by Kane’s side nodding and smiling, she allowed her eyes to drift over the room. Had Marla managed to escape Carrie? After a few moments of searching, she found her near the beverage table. While she wasn’t serving coffee or tea as Carrie had asked, at least she was still in the general vicinity of her post. Elise speculated why Marla hadn’t abandoned the job as soon as no one was looking. A shift in the crowd allowed her to see that Rose was standing with Marla as well.